


Well... This is Awkward

by 1The_Quiet_Samurai1



Category: Cracked: After Hours
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-03
Updated: 2014-09-05
Packaged: 2018-02-16 01:48:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2251392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1The_Quiet_Samurai1/pseuds/1The_Quiet_Samurai1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not really sure what to put here, so here it goes:</p>
<p>Soren suddenly finds himself in an awkward position at the diner. NOTHING could be more awkward than this... right?</p>
<p>First fanfic for Cracked, so go easy on me if you want to comment lol.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Feels

**Author's Note:**

> So, the plot bunnies made a nest in my mind and made me think about it until I found a site that had fanfictions about these guys. Seriously. This is like, the only site out there that had these. Once I found it I wrote out this first chapter. I thought about making it a bigger multi-chapter thing, since there are pretty much only one-shots, but I couldn’t figure out how to make it longer lol. So it’ll be a two-shot unless I think of another chapter.

Soren sighed as he leaned against the wall in the women’s bathroom of the gang’s favourite diner and crossed his arms. This had to be the weirdest situation he’s ever been- actually he could think of worse. He was SO not in character tonight. “Guys, do we really, and I mean, really have to do this? It’s awkward enough as it is.” said Soren. “Why are you two doing that in the stall? You could just hide the pictures from me here.” He tried not to think about how weird that sounded.

“Well, we have to figure this out for your sake, or you’ll probably drive yourself crazy. And to answer your other question, we didn’t think of it at the time. But we’ve got them out now so it doesn’t matter.” said Katie. Then Michael suddenly swore, and gave a slightly girlish shriek. Huh. It seemed as though Soren wasn’t the only one that was out of character. “It fell in the toilet! Katie, grab the picture before it shrivels up! Don’t we need that one?” he said. Soren heard his friends shuffle awkwardly in the stall. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. Were those other situations really not worse than this?

“Oh, nah we don’t need that one it’s fine. Plus, how come you, of all people, are too chicken to get it?” said Katie. She had a good point. But Soren didn’t really care at the moment. “Can you hurry up? Daniel’s gonna be here any moment, and- and-” Soren leaned in closer towards the door they locked. “I-I think there’s a line up outside? Man this is going to be awkward.” he whispered harshly to them.

“Sorry, we had to get these in order. Okay. We’re done.” said Katie. His friends stepped out of the stall, each holding two small stacks of pictures. A thought suddenly came to Soren as they looked at him. “You know... you could have just asked me questions instead of showing me pictures and seeing which one I look at the longest.” he said. The other two looked at each other and shrugged.

“Yeah...” said Katie.

“We thought about that, but then we thought- what fun is that? And besides, this was actually easier than that.” said Michael. Soren gave him a weird look.

“Finding pictures of naked men and women was easier than coming up with questions to ask me?” asked Soren. They looked at each other again.

“Turns out that we both have a lot of good looking, and non-good looking friends that would do this for free. Plus, no woman in their right mind would ever use this bathroom. So there’s no line up. It’s the radio. We’re good.” said Katie. Both men looked at her.

“But it’s so... clean.” said Michael.

“Listen.” So they did.

It was faint, but they could clearly hear what’s going on in the men’s room on the other side of the wall. Both men made a face. “That- really?” Soren couldn’t form the sentence, but Katie understood what he was trying to say.

“Yep. Okay let’s do this.” she said.

“YES!” said Michael.  
“The pictures, Michael. The pictures. Not...not whatever you were thinking. Ew. No offense.” said Soren. Michael shrugged, with no shame. That was so Michael. “Shall we?” he said to Katie. She nodded.

“One.”

“Two.”

SO, some explaining obviously needs to be done. So let’s do that.

***Earlier that week...***

“NO, no, no! You’re wrong! She’s so wrong, SOREN, tell her she’s wrong!” Michael said loudly. Soren sighed.

“She’s right.”

“HA! Wait. NO! No, no, no! Dude! How could- why Soren? Why?” said Michael. He really wanted to win this argument.

“Okay. Fluttershy is the obvious choice for the most badass in My Little Pony, because even though she’s well, shy and whatnot, she’s got this weird stare. Plus, she can tame any animal, and she even befriended one of their enemies.” said Soren. He looked down at his food in slight shame. Then he looked at Daniel who was looking very smug. “I can’t believe you sucked us into this.” he said. Daniel snorted.

“Plus, Fluttershy actually got the other pony’s sisters to calm down and actually listen to her. They still won’t listen to anyone else, but they’ll listen to her.” said Katie.

“Yeah, but- AppleJack’s pretty badass... with her kicking...” said Michael. “Rainbowdash, with her... flying...”

“I can’t believe it either. I also can’t believe you actually did research on this one. I didn’t even put my reasons in and Fluttershy already won! I didn’t even have cards for this one.” laughed Daniel. Soren raised an eyebrow.

“You’re floundering Michael. Give in!” said Katie. Michael stared at his food. The group was having two separate conversations again.

“You. You the guy that brings cards for every conversation we have, didn’t for this one?” Soren asked Dan.

“Flounder is in the Little Mermaid Katie, psh! Wrong- you know, thing.” said Michael. Katie rolled her eyes.

“Y-yeah, I just said that. Right?” said Daniel as he turned to the other two. “I just said that.”

“Yes. Daniel. You just said that. Anyway, so Michael lost this one, what should we talk about next? We’ve still got like, half of our meals to eat.” said Katie. There was a moment of silence as the gang tried to think of something. But after a few seconds it became awkward because it didn’t usually take this long to come up with a topic. They even avoided looking each other in the eyes a few times. Then Soren had a great idea.

“Oh! I got one.” he said. The others sighed in relief, and there were a couple of “thank god’s.”

“Well? What is it?” asked Daniel.

“We could talk about-”

How Certain Secrets/Hidden Desires Are Unnecessary Issues in Movies/TV Shows

“I don’t know...” said Daniel. Soren gave him a questioning look. Daniel shrugged. “Well, it’s just that sometimes they are necessary. Like how in some cases the entire plot is based around a lie or secret, or hidden desire. Take Pretty Little Liars for example. Without the lies and hidden stuff, it wouldn’t be called “Pretty Little Liars.” It would be called... n-not Pretty Little Liars... or something along those lines.” said Daniel. Soren rolled his eyes.

“Fine. I just- wait. You watch that?” he asked. Daniel shrugged.

“For the mystery. I want to know who the main antagonist is. I-I don’t really care about the relationship stuff unless it’s necessary to the plot. Which most of them aren’t now so... yeah.” he explained.

“Sure in some stuff they’re necessary. Unless it’s FRIENDS.” said Michael. “You know, without the whole Ross and Rachael thing, and the Chandler and Monica thing. Normally the episodes where there isn’t a “lie” or “hidden desire” are usually the best ones. Like the one where they bet each other to see who knows more about the other.”

The others stared at him for a few seconds. “That was very insightful Michael.” said Katie.

“Thank you.”

“Except why did you use air quotes for lie and hidden desire...I’m not sure I-” muttered Daniel.

“ALRIGHT, fine, it was a bad idea.” said Soren. “But we’ve gotta come up with something, we can’t just talk like normal people. We tried that once. Michael apparently stole cable.” Katie and Daniel sighed, and Michael laughed at the memory. Suddenly Dan nearly jumped out of his chair with excitement. Soren couldn’t help but smile for some reason. What? He liked it when Dan got like that, it made things more interesting.

“Ooh! W-we could talk about-”

How Certain Secrets/Hidden Desires Are/Aren’t Realistic in Movies/TV Shows

“Ooh, that’s a good one. I’m up for that!” said Katie. See? Daniel made things more interesting.

“But, since when are movies and tv shows ever realistic at all?” asked Soren. Everyone frowned and grew quiet. Crap. Why did he say that? He just did what Katie did to horror. He made it boring. “Sorry.” he mumbled and ate some of his soup. Wait, he could fix this. He swallowed his food, and thought on it. He could fix it... right?

“Modern Family is alright.” Michael suddenly said.

“True, but the actual family arrangement isn’t as realistic as one might think it is. I mean, how often does a child of ten have a step-sister who’s a mom with three children? One that’s the same age as him.” said Daniel.

Okay, so maybe _Soren_ couldn’t fix it...

“Yeah, but all of- well, okay. Most of the situations the show revolves around does happen in real life. Except for the whole “child genius” topic. I’m not sure how often we get people like that in real life.” said Katie.

“Yeah... I guess. I... Damn it Soren this one’s harder than the last one!” Michael practically shouted. The others made hand gestures to get him to speak more quietly.

“I’m sorry okay? It just, came out. When we get into debates and conversations and stuff sometimes I can’t always control what I say. It’s like how Dan gets all... Dan on us when he’s going on and on ab- no. Never mind, it’s- it’s not like that at all. Forget it.” said Soren.

“Done.” said Michael. “Wait. What am I forgetting?”

“Oh hey, I just found an article about why we make up lies and have secrets and stuff.” said Daniel. The gang looked more interested. Soren stopped himself from smiling again. Dan just made the conversation more interesting. “Go on.” he said.

“Well, basically it just explains that lies can contribute to our personalities. We all know that there are two types of lies-”

“Actually there are three- but- but go on Dan.” said Michael. The others gave him a weird glance, but payed attention to Dan.

“Uh, well, there’s the lies to “save face,” meaning we lie in order not to hurt ones feelings. Then there’s the lie to “shift blame.” The lies that sometimes get us out of trouble. But of course shows and movies have proven that to be the wrong choice because of Karma.” said Dan.

“But what about the people that lie for fun?” said Michael. “Wait. Now that’s four types of lies...” Katie eye him suspiciously.

“What is this other type that you keep mentioning?” she asked. Although, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know.

“Oh, good point actually. I’ll see if it says anything about that.” said Daniel. “Okay, there’s lying to avoid confrontation, lying to get one’s way, that could be what you’re talking about. But if you’re talking about something related to gossip- yeah that’s the closest thing they have on here-”

“Wait.” said Michael. “So, now we’re on-”

Why People Lie and Have Hidden Desires? ...In Movies and TV shows?

There was a pause of silence before Dan spoke. He shrugged. “I guess? I don’t know!” he said. He put down his phone with a sigh. The gang was silent again. Suddenly Michael gasped with energy. “We could talk about-”

Which of the Four of Us Would You Make-Out With the Longest?

“NO!” all of the other three practically shouted. Michael sighed.

“We don’t actually have to do it, duh!” he said. “Although-”

“NO!” Michael raised his hands up in defeat.

“Fine, fine. Oh, then what about-”

Which of the Four of Us Would You Rather Date?

The others thought on it. Soren shrugged. “Alright. I’m game if you guys are.” he said. “Oh wait, except you and Katie have this weird past relationship, if that’s what you’d call it.” Katie shook her head no while Michael nodded. “So, should we just ignore that, or...” Katie nodded, while Michael shook his head no.

“Yeah I’m gonna say we ignore it.” said Daniel as he glanced at Soren who also nodded. Michael frowned and stared at his food  
“Hm. Well, I think out of the three of you, Dan and I are the most alike.” said Katie. “I’m not sure that would work well in a relationship, no offence.” Dan shrugged and nodded in agreement. “So for me, it would either be Soren or Michael... scratch that. Just Soren.” Katie said while glancing at Michael. He didn’t seem phased.

“Interesting. Hm... Now how about if you were gay?” he asked.

“Well, if you ignore the fact that I’m the only girl in our group, and if we’re expanding our options... Carol from work, or Sandra, one of our waitresses.” said Katie. “Okay, now if you guys were gay, which of the three of you would you date?”  
They thought on it. Soren glanced at his two choices. First, there was Michael. He was... well... Michael. He didn’t think that would work out well. Plus he found that Michael can be a bit hard to... deal with. Then there was Daniel.

“I pick Dan.” Michael said stealing Soren away from his thoughts. Wait. Did he just say-

“Me?” said Dan. “Really? Why? We don’t have that much in common, and we disagree on a LOT of stuff-”

“I disagree.” Michael interrupted, as usual.

“And my family thinks you have some kind of condition. No thanks to what you did on Thanks Giving.” said Dan. Soren looked at him questioningly, but Dan waved it off. “That might not work out.” finished Dan.

“I based my pick on the phrase ‘opposites attract.’ So...” said Michael. Now it made sense. Daniel made a noise that meant he understood. “Well, if I were gay, and I’m basing my option on what we just heard, so I’d pick Soren.” he said. Soren couldn’t stop himself from smiling again. Why did he smile so much around Dan? It was just Dan. But he stopped himself from over-thinking anything and focussed on the conversation. “Well, I think if I were gay I’d pick Dan too, no offence Michael.” he said. Michael wasn’t paying attention. That might be a good thing. Instead, he was chugging down his drink. His drink that was a very fizzy pop. “Why Michael? Why?” thought Soren. But Michael will forever be Michael. Actually... he was probably planning on interrupting Daniel once he got into a rant...

“Well. I’m certainly popular tonight! Katie? Reconsider your choice?” said Dan. Soren had to smirk at that as he looked at Dan. Suddenly he forgot what the others were talking about, and became quickly confused as to why his stomach flip-flopped. He wasn’t sick was he? Soren glanced at his plate. Just a bowl of soup and a salad. Nothing out of the ordinary. Right? He had that meal like, every other day. (He was a health nut, so sue him... Actually don’t, he doesn’t have that kind of money at the moment, not that he’d ever admit it.) Oh, Dan’s speaking. “Try and pay attention man.” Soren thought.

“No, no, Michael, that’s not what I’m saying at all. What I’m saying, is that Mary Jane is clearly the better match because she’s smart, kind, understanding, a good friend to Peter, pretty-”

And Michael burped. Loudly and long. Yep, Soren definitely called that one. The group became silent. Dan looked peeved. “Huh. He looks cute when he does that.” Soren suddenly thought. Was it hot in the diner or was it just him? He quickly glanced at his other two friends who seemed perfectly fine. Nope. Just him. “What the heck Soren? This is DANIEL. DANIEL, your FRIEND. Your GUY friend. Don’t think like that!” he scolded himself. He looked down at his food, suddenly not feeling very hungry. He tried to pay attention to what Michael was saying.

“Hermione is obviously the better match! If anything, she’s smarter than Mary Jane. Sure, Hermione might not know science, and math and all that crap, but throw her in there to learn and in no time she’ll be smarter. WITH MAGIC boo-ya!” Michael said loudly. “Plus you know, she’s hot.”

“Actually in the books she’s not suppose to be-”

“SOREN Dan’s talking about books!” said Michael, clearly annoyed. His voice stole Soren away from his thoughts again. Damn it, what was with him?

“Wh- oh. Books. Right. Katie, would probably have some insight on that. Right, Katie? Talk to Katie. Katie would explain something. Katie?” he said quickly. “Way to keep it real man.” His brain was just dripping with sarcasm. Luckily Katie got the message and started saying something. Soren zoned out right after she started speaking. He was preoccupied at the moment. Thankfully the other three hadn’t noticed at all and were too wrapped up in... what ever the hell they were talking about. Something about Harry Potter and Spider Man though.

After the gang (finally) finish their meals, they all begin to head their separate ways. Soren was suddenly very tired. Not that work is exhausting, really it was... the fact that he couldn’t get Dan out of his head. He and Katie bid Dan and Michael goodbye, and Katie stopped Soren before he could leave.

“Are you okay? You seem a little... distracted about something.” said Katie.

“Oh, uh, yeah, I’m fine.”

“Okay, I’ll just get to the point. You’ve got a thing for Dan.”

Soren froze. “What? No... I... no. What?” he sputtered. Tonight was so not his night. Katie laughed. What was so funny? “Come on Soren, I saw the way you kept looking at Dan. And you weren’t not hungry for no reason. You usually finish each meal.” said Katie. Soren sighed. He wasn’t going to get out of this one, was he? “Alright look. I... may... have some kind of... thing for Dan.” he said slowly. Katie smiled brightly and looked like she was about to squeal like a little girl. “Before you squeal, I have no idea what this is. I mean for the longest time I really thought I was straight. Now...” he finished.

Katie smiled more softly. Soren suddenly looked so... lost. That was so unlike him. It was weird, but also kind of cute. She put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Ooh, you want me to help you?” she asked. Soren gave her a look of confusion.

“Wh- how?” he asked.

“Maybe you should kiss.” came Michael’s voice. The two jumped and saw said person come out from behind the dumpster. Soren sighed. “Damn it Michael, what are you doing?” he demanded.

“Well, I was gonna go home, but then I saw you two and thought you were going to make out or do it, so I stayed behind. But then I heard you had a crush on Dan, and figured it wasn’t going to happen.” explained Michael. Of course. Soren sighed again.  
“It’s not- I don’t- ugh I can’t believe this is happening.” he said. But he did feel better knowing he didn’t have to go through this alone. Even if one of his helpers was Michael. “What else, do you guys suggest.” said Soren. Michael lit up like a Christmas tree.

“I have an idea!”


	2. Peace Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *WOOT, WOOT!*  
> Second chapter is here!  
> Not much to be said here, but Soren may be a little bit OOC just to let you know. It'll make sense though.  
> Enjoy!

_“It’s not- I don’t- ugh I can’t believe this is happening.” he said. But he did feel better knowing he didn’t have to go through this alone. Even if one of his helpers was Michael. “What else, do you guys suggest.” said Soren. Michael lit up like a Christmas tree._

_“I have an idea!”_

* * *

 

“Michael, this isn’t going to be like your last plan, is it? Plaid and sweat did not suit well for Dan when he was... trying to impress Sandra...” Soren trailed off at that thought. He was trying to impress a woman. Who’s to say he’s gay or bi? Suddenly he wasn’t so sure if he wanted to do this. “Soren, it’s going to be fine. I know it. Women have this intuition when it comes to knowing sexuality. Whether or not the person knows, we know.” said Katie. “Don’t let yourself worry so much.”

Soren blinked. “And by ‘women’ and ‘we’, you mean you?” he asked. “Yeah pretty much.”

“Okay. So you, sleep. Or do- whatever it is you do after this, go, do it.” said Michael. “Let us figure this out, besides, I’ve got a plan!”

“Yeah, about that, you never answered my question-”

“Soren don’t make yourself old by thinking about relationships and crap! Now go watch a Woody Allen movie and get some dating advice. You’re clearly inexperienced. One night stands, are not dates. They’re.. one night stands.”

“Uh-”

“Uh Michael?” said Katie.

“Now GOOOOO. Willert and I have work to do.” Soren shrugged, said goodnight, and left for the night. Katie looked at Michael.

“Work? We’re gonna do this tonight? I thought we were going to sneak around at work. You know, dodge the boss, and Dan, help Soren in secret?” she said. Michael looked confused for some reason. “You know, sleep?”

“Sleep is for *****, Katie.” said Michael. “Katie, Katie, Katie.” Said person rolled her eyes. “We can’t let Soren down after what happened on Labour Day.”

“What hap-”

“Meet me at my place behind Farley’s home. Use the knock I taught you last time. Oh, and don’t look Farley in the eyes. He’ll think you’re flirting.” Michael started to walk away.

“Who- what’s Farley?”

“Use the knock, and no eye contact! See ya!” Katie stared after him. Going to Michael’s place has always been weird. He gave new tips each time. Oh well. She figured she’d better get going if she wanted to sleep that night. She shook her head and started walking to her car. She sure hoped they would be able to help Soren. The guy seemed so confused. It was so cute. Of course she would never say that out loud though. After about ten minutes, she arrived at Michael’s place. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

 

The next evening, Katie had told Soren to meet them at the diner half an hour early. That was weird. Maybe they figured something out? Soren yawned as he got out of the car. He didn’t exactly get any sleep the night before. Dan had been clouding his mind since the dinner the other night, and he probably wasn’t in the right mind set to say ‘no’ to Michael’s advice. In other words, he chose the wrong movie and ended up eating ice cream out of the pale until midnight. The combination of a stomach ache and images of Dan made it a rough night. He felt sick all day and he still did. Yet... for some weird reason, he still wanted to eat fatty foods. Like- like a cheese burger with fries, and a large piece of cheesecake for dessert... Hm. Man he was SO not use to having an actual crush... thing. Or whatever it was. He was suddenly very thankful to have Katie and Michael as friends... or just Katie.

Yeah just Katie.

No offence to Michael or anything...

Anyway, he walked into the familiar diner and saw his two friends chatting at their table. (Yeah, they’ve been going there so much that they actually have their own table... is that sad? Is it not? Eh, who cares? They have their own table.) Soren made his way over to them. He sat down in his chair and suddenly the exhaustion hit him. He felt wide awake all day, but of course, since he’d gotten no sleep the night before, he knew otherwise. He let out a yawn and tried to rub away his sudden head ache. “Alright. What do you got?” he asked the other two.

At first, there was silence. Soren opened his eyes and stared at them. They just stared back at him. What was with them? “What?” he said. Michael spoke first.

“Nothing except for the fact that you’ve looked like death ate hell and spat it out, and trapped it under a high-speed train.” he paused. “Twice. No. Not twice. Like, four, or, twenty times.” Soren sighed. He knew this would come eventually. He should have just skipped work and stayed at home. But NOOOOOOOO, his mind had to think of the new essay. So instead he somehow finished the last paragraph, and drove to the office.

“Soren, what he means to say is, what the hell did you do last night?” demanded Katie. He sighed again. Yup. He totally saw that coming. “Okay look, I don’t really want to talk about last night, but it ended with me finishing an essay due today. Although... I’m pretty sure I used the word maleficent instead of benevolent... wait. Is that even the word I was trying to think of? Maybe it’s just because I saw that movie the day before yes-” he glanced at his friends, who looked like they didn’t care about the essay. “Uh, but what did you guys do last night? Michael made it pretty clear that you guys weren’t gonna sleep until you figured something out. So, what is it?” he asked. His friends glanced at each other. Michael made a gesture that meant Katie should do the talking. She sighed.

“Well, last night, after kicking a cougar to the curb-” she said while giving Michael a slight glare.

“I told you not to make eye contact, don’t blame me!”

“Fine. Uh, don’t ask.” Katie said once she saw the confused expression on Soren’s face. “We, after disagreeing with each other for three hours, came up with an idea. I’m not sure I’d call it great, but it’s something.”

“Wait. Do you mean an old woman, or an old woman dressed as a cougar, or an actual cat thing?” asked Soren. The other two stared at him. Although... Michael looked as though he was thinking about it. “Sorry I didn’t get any sleep last night.” Soren said as a waitress walked up to them. “Could I get a cheese burger with fries and a large piece of cheesecake? In like half an hour?” he asked her. The other two looked at him suspiciously as the waitress took their orders.

“Alright, what the hell did you do last night?” asked Katie. He normally did NOT eat that stuff. Well, he had fries once in a while... but still. Plus cake? Cheesecake at that? She was beginning to worry about him. “I don’t-” Katie interrupted him.

“Soren, it’s not good to keep things bottled up. You should know that by now. You can’t eat your sorrows away.” Soren sighed. He caved and told them what happened.

“Man, I knew I should have specified which movie to watch. That one sucks. The title and description are so misleading.” sighed Michael. Katie frowned. No wonder Soren didn’t eat anything at lunch. Now she really hoped their plan worked. “Alright,” said Michael. He put a “reserved” sign on the table. “Come with us. Katie, it’s time.” Katie nodded and the two dragged Soren to the women’s washroom.

***Twenty-Five...ish Minutes Later***

“One.”

“Two.”

SO, now we’re all caught up.

“THREE!”

Michael and Katie said in unison. Their plan was to show Soren two pictures at once, one of a naked man, and one of a naked woman. Michael was going to time him to see which one he stared at the longest, then they would tally it up in the end. If it was a tie, Michael said he had a backup plan. Katie had no idea what it was, but she figured she’ll find out anyway even if it wasn’t a tie. It was weird, yes, but it's what they came up with at two thirty am so...

After the tests, Michael gave the times to Katie to tally up. The men’s had one point more than the women’s, but it was pretty close. Michael figured that meant his second plan was needed. “Guys, I’m not sure if thimmph-” Michael had interrupted Soren. By kissing him. Katie slapped herself in the face. Of course. But as she analysed Soren’s reaction she realized... that it might have actually been the better idea. What were they thinking? She knew they should have slept first then came up with ideas later. Nothing good ever happened after two am. Remember that. As it turned out... Soren looked like he was enjoying the kiss. Which was weird because Michael, even though they slept together, wasn’t the greatest kisser. Yet Soren was smiling. Weird. After a while the two parted for air.

“Okay. Um-” Once again, Michael interrupted Soren.

“Katie, go!”

Katie grabbed Soren’s shoulders and pulled him in for a kiss. After about a minute, they pulled. Just as she suspected. “Yeah you’re gay.” she said. Michael nodded in agreement.

“Yup. Yup I’m gay.” Soren confirmed. His face was totally flushed, and he looked even more exhausted. “And I’m gay for Dan...” he sighed. This. Was. Just. Great. Now they just needed to know if Dan was gay or not. Soren felt like puking.

“I wouldn’t use that exact wording...” Katie trailed off in thought.

“Well, I think Dan’s here now, so we gotta go. You know he doesn’t like to be left alone for very long, unless he’s at home watching Netflix. So let’s go is my point.” said Michael. Katie nodded and the two headed for the door.

“You guys go ahead, I’ll be there in a bit.” sighed Soren. Tonight was NOT going to be one of the best. That much he knew. He just hoped that their next conversation would be able to take his mind off of things. Things like Daniel. Soren turned on the sink and splashed his face with cold water. He at least had to look awake in front of Dan. Even if what he ordered was going to be suspicious. He took in a deep breath and exhaled. He could do this. Right? It’s not like they were going to discuss-

***Thirty Minutes Later***

“It’s not ideal though. If you’re going to have sex with your best friend, you should at least pick a decent place.” said Daniel. Soren tried to concentrate on his food. This was NOT helping. “Hey, if I did it with my best friend, I wouldn’t pick one of our bedrooms so that we could get caught. No, no, I’d rent a hotel room and not pay by card.” said Michael.

“Ho- car- You and Katie supposedly did it at a bowling ally. How is that ideal?” said Dan. Katie shook her head at him.

“Dan, best friends. We are NOT best friends. Sure, we’re friends, but we’re not BEST friends.” Katie said while Michael was shaking his head. Dan shrugged in agreement. She had a point. “Yeah, alright, true-”

“Plus we weren’t teenagers.”

“Yeah whatever. Still though. A bowling ally?” The other two shrugged.

“It was a spur of the moment thing.” said Michael.

“Oh.”

“Why would you do it with your best friend anyways? It could possibly end the relationship as you know it. You wouldn’t even be able to look at each other at work-” Katie paused as she noticed the looks Soren and Michael were giving her. Luckily Dan was looking down at his food. “If-if you worked together. I’m not suggesting that happens all the time, or even most of the time. It’s just- just something to think about...” she finished. “This is not related to anyone at this table,” she cleared her throat, “who’s sitting across from me.” No reaction from Dan. Soren gave her a look. What was she trying to do? Was she trying to make him feel like a-

“Yeah. Something one would NOT want to think about. Duh.” said Michael.

“No one at this table anyway.”

“But uh, to answer Katie’s question, one would fall for a best friend because they’re most like their parents. It’s because of genetics. Come on guys, we pretty much learned all of this in high school.” said Dan. Soren glanced at him. Bad idea. His eyes stayed on Dan while Michael spoke.

“But that doesn’t- sure, some of it makes sense. But Soren’s parents aren’t anything like- OW!” Katie and Soren kicked him hard on the shin underneath the table. Soren gave him a warning look. “Like- not anyone at this table. Sitting adjacent to him... ow.” Soren kicked Michael again. Katie couldn’t help but smirk at how red Soren’s face was getting. Wait to go Michael. Wait to go. Although... Dan didn’t seem to notice. That was probably good. Dan was speaking again, but Soren obviously wasn’t paying attention.

“Ew that’s weird. And that’s coming from me.” Michael suddenly said. Katie leaned in towards him.

“Is it weird that I’m getting turned on?” she whispered, as she gestured towards Soren who was getting turned on by Daniel.

“No.” said Michael. “But that’s coming from me.”

Katie nodded, understanding what he meant. Suddenly she turned towards Dan who interrupted his own speech.

“What did you say?” he asked Soren. Said person quickly looked away from Dan and ate the rest of his fries.

“I like food.” he said just as quickly. “Is what I said.” Katie smiled knowingly at Soren who tried to avoid her gaze. Dan looked at Soren questioningly.

“Yeah, about that. It’s not even Fry Day and-”

“Oh Friday. I just got that.” Michael interrupted with a smile. He glanced at Katie, who just shook her head.

“And,” continued Dan, who was a little annoyed at Michael. The waitress brought over the cheesecake Soren asked for a while ago. “And now a cheesecake? Really? Should I be worried about an apocalypse?” Dan asked. Soren didn’t look at him. Instead of answering, he bit into the cheesecake without hesitation. “Plus you’ve been very quiet this evening. Are you okay?” asked Dan

“I think he’s just sick again.” said Katie. Soren wasn’t exactly sure where she was going with this. “He does weird things when he’s sick.” Oh. That’s where she was going. Wait. He did weird things? Really? Soren gave her a confused look, in which she just shrugged in return. “Okay. But uh, what exactly does he have?” asked Dan. Soren ate the last few bites of his cheesecake. He did not feel so hot- well, on the contrary, he did feel incredibly hot, but it was more like the sweaty gross hot, not- you get the idea. “Uh, well, it’s not exactly a cold, but it’s not exactly the flue either.” said Michael.

_“Thanks guys. Thanks a lot.”_ Soren thought. Dan was going to figure it out sooner or later right? He sighed just as Katie was about to say something. “Oh stop guys. What they’re trying to say is- is- I- crap no!” Sore suddenly stood up and quickly ran to the bathroom. His stomach had finally gave in to the sick feeling. Great... NOTHING could be more awkward than this. Right? Huh. He’s been asking that a lot lately...

His friends watched him run off with concern. Dan looked at the other two who turned back around. “I feel like you guys have been hinting towards something all evening. I don’t know how to say it discreetly, so I’ll say it bluntly. Does Soren have feelings for me?” he asked. Katie and Michael looked at each other then back at Dan.

Katie’s “That’s not really for us to say” was drowned out by Michael’s “So you HAVE been paying attention.”

“So, is it like, romantic feelings, or like a crush thing, or what? I’m not freaking out or anything, just curious.” said Dan.

“I think it’s more sexual-” Katie stopped Michael before he could continue.

“I think that’s something you’ll have to ask him. Plus, I-I think someone, uh, namely you Dan, should go check up on him.” she said. Dan nodded and headed for the bathroom. He didn’t quite escape in time though, as he heard the rest of Michael’s theory. Soren had a thing for him? Dan didn’t think he’d be into nerds. Especially nerds like him who had no social life outside of his three friends and some people from work. He hesitated before opening the bathroom door. Once inside, he luckily, didn’t hear the unholy sounds of someone puking, but the sound of the sink. Although... there was a bit of a weird smell.

“Soren? Are you okay?” he asked cautiously. He knew the answer, but he still felt as though he should ask. Soren finished washing out his mouth and sighed. “Well, no but- what I was trying to say before, is that Katie and Michael were saying that-”

“You like me? Like, like in that way?” Dan finished for him. Soren glanced at him, and looked down.

“Yeah...”

“Hey, I’m not freaked out or anything if that’s a thing you’re worried about.”

“I- thanks.”

“No problem.” with that said, Dan leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. They both smiled and Soren turned a bit pink (not that he would admit it.)

“Uh, what was that for?” he asked.

“Well, it’s not exactly everyday someone like you likes someone like me. I’m not gonna pass that up. I would have kissed you on the mouth, but well- you know.” said Dan. Soren nodded and cleared his throat.

“Right. Yeah, I should uh, probably go home and sleep. Oh man I’m gonna have to face those people again.” he sighed.

“Hey. I found a back entrance that hardly anyone uses. Oh, and I’ll be driving you home. I took a taxi so we can still use your car. There is no way I’m letting you drive. I don’t even know how you made it to work. Nor do I know how you finished that essay, oh that reminds me. Boss wanted me to ask you if you were trying to think of the word Machiavellian?” asked Dan as they left the building. Soren slapped himself in the forehead.

“Oh that’s the word! Yeah. Did he say what I put?”

“No, but I would have liked to see that.” laughed Dan. Soren nudged him gently.

“Oh shut up. Fresh air!” he breathed. It really did feel nice to be outside after that. “Hey, who do you think is going to pay the bill, Katie or Michael?”

Dan thought on it as he opened the two got into Soren’s car. “Hm... well, Michael never likes paying- he doesn’t even tip- but Katie can easily pursue him into doing so. I think I’m gonna go either way tonight.” Soren hummed in return, and leaned over and kissed Dan on the cheek just as he had done earlier. Dan smiled and glanced at him as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“Well, I like you. A lot.” said Soren. “I just- wanted you to hear that from me.” Dan smiled and glanced at him again.

“Thanks. And for the record, I-I think I like you too.” Soren smiled widely at Dan. Suddenly, he felt a little bit better.

***Um, Meanwhile***

Katie and Michael sat at their table watching the other two get into Soren’s car. They watched it drive off. For a couple of minutes, the two sat in silence.

“You pay.”

“You pa- awe, damn it Katie. Rock, paper, scissors?”

“No. Michael, I won fair and square. Besides, it’s been proven that there’s an easy way to win that game.”

“I know. So?”

“No! You’re paying. That’s that.”

“Oh come on! I payed last time, right?”

“No. Dan did. And for the record- see ya suckah!” Katie stood up quickly and practically ran for the door. Michael didn’t even have time to follow her because the waitress showed up.

“Wh- hey- damn it Katie!”

“PEACE OUT MOTHER ******!” with that said, the door closed and she was gone.

Michael sighed and turned to the waitress. Wow. She was hotter than he remembered. Hm... he smiled at a certain thought.

“No. You wanna pay the bill now?”

“Damn it. Fine.”

***Back with Soren and Dan***

“Thanks for doing this.” Soren said as the entered his apartment. He leaned against Dan as the two walked over to his bedroom.

“Hey anytime buddy. Let’s get you to bed now before you start acting really weird, like you do when you’re sick.”

“Right. Thanks.” After a few minutes, Soren laid his head down on his pillow. “Hey Dan? Thanks for staying the night. Um, I was just wondering, what- what are we now?” he asked. Dan bent down and kissed him- on the lips this time. It was heavenly! Soren felt like he was floating. Soon (too soon,) though they had to part for air. Both men smiled. “I think that answers your question.” said Dan. They smiled again, and Dan finally let Soren fall asleep. He knew for a fact that he wasn’t going to let Soren go to work tomorrow.

_~Fin~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well now, I couldn't have it done without them kissing at least once now, could I? lol. IT'S DONE! Yay! :D So yeah, Soren may have been a little OOC, but I'm sure most of you have seen the episode of After Hours when he's actually sick right? (Unless he really was from an alternate dimension... hm...  
> Oh, and I do have a Fanfiction dot net account and my user name is K9 ML7 if you want to check out some of my other stuff. I think this account will mostly be used for Cracked, Pitch Perfect and Now You See Me... yeah... it's a weird combination, (I mean I won't write crossovers with them or anything lol) but yeah.  
> ANYWAY, please feel free to comment, or leave a kudos. :)

**Author's Note:**

> I have to say, I was surprised to see that there are more Soren/Daniel fans out there than I thought. :D I know there are more than what’s written guys, I know you’re out there!
> 
> Keep reading! :)


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